We have continued to chronicle the arrest and prosecution of citizens for merely filming police in public. Some prosecutors like Anita Alvarez in Chicago have fought hard to send citizens to jail for videotaping police in public, though courts have continued to support the obvious right to such filming. This video shows that police in other countries like Australia are showing the carrying out the same abusive measures.
This video shows police Police in Parramatta, Australia abusing a young man who is videotaping them. The young man felt police were singling out young black men for arbitrary searches. The police respond with an arbitrary search of the videographer.
As in many U.S. cases, police falsely claim that the man is obstructing or “hindering” police operations. Constable A. Loxley is shown demanding “Why are you filming?! Why are you specifically filming us?!”
Officers do not find any basis for a real criminal charge, but threaten to arrest him for swearing. What is striking about this case is that the filming was triggered by the belief that police were abusing minorities — a classic reason from such videotaping. Prosecutors like Alvarez are trying to deter one of the most effective technologies in combating police abuse. Indeed, as we have repeatedly seen, the only reason that some investigations are ordered in some case is the surfacing of incriminating videotapes.
Great post, great website!! check out my article about the english stop and search practice on News4thePeople,
Regards
What I find sad is alot of states are using facial recognition software to take your driver license photo. I found out when I renewed my license back in 2011 and was suprised to find out about it. When getting the photo taken I read a sign that said to make sure there were no obstructions to my face (more or less) so I asked if they used facial recognition software and was told yes. I went home and looked it up online and found out alot of states were doing it.
I don’t remember any kind of discussion on it in Ohio and no news reports about it.
It’s just very disappointing to me that our government wants to know everything we do in our lives anymore.
Once the software by Microsoft and the NYPD becomes more pervasive
http://nyconvergence.com/2013/02/nypd-partners-with-microsoft-on-crime-fighting-technology.html
it can be very intrusive because with all the city and business camera’s interconnected they can follow our every movement and even watch what we spend our money on.
(I couldn’t find a link to the original article I read where it discussed connecting all the business camera’s but I remember it said at the end of the article that a police spokesman said that “at this time there are no plans to use facial recogition software with it” but I’m guessing that changed about twenty minutes later).
Papers please….